Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-09-30

| KIM OF measure OF evidence legally
necessary to prove it, you will upon
request at any time receive the adj
vice and assistance of the Court.
And you should bear in mind that
it sometimes happens atcomplaints
are made TO Grand Juries which
emanate in malice and are dictated
by q desire to be revcnged upon the
party against whom the complaint
is made, and not from an honest
desire that real guilt should be pun
ished and belief that the good of
society requires that the charge made
should be investigated.
1t is your duty to scan the motive
that influences parties in making
complaints to you, and only consider
those that you believe are honestly
made and which you'think the good
of society requires should be inves-
tigated.
Criminal law should not be adj
ministered to crafty private malice
or revenge, but to hunt out and pun
ish real guilt, which if unpublished
would endanger the peace, good or
der and well being of society.
| The value of your services to the
citizens and to the State is in a great
measure dependent upon the manner
in which you discharge your duty.
1t is clearly obligatory upon you
that your investigations should be
searching, thorough and impartial.
You are to require such evidence in
every case as you deem to be legal
in its character, and sufficient in
amount as to reasonably insure fin
al conviction provided it should not
be contradicted or essentially weak
ened by opposing evidence. The
testimony of one unimpeached and
credible witness is in general, if it
produces belief beyond reasonable
doubt, sufficient to prove a fact as
well in criminal as civil cases. Tc
this rule, however, there is one ex
ception, and that is in the case OF
perjury.
There the testimony of the party
accused is in law allowed to balance
the testimony of any one witness SC
that the testimony of another wit
! ness or proof equivalent to it is re
quired to substantiate the charge.
! Your investigations are er part,
proceeding upon evidence produced
I by the State. But you have thu
right to send for and use explanatory
and even contradictory evidence i
you deem it necessary in order t.
possess yourselves of the true char
acter of the charge made and tina
the ends of Justice will be subserve(
by so doing. do not mean by thi
that you are to go through the form
of trial. But you may avail your
selves of such means as are at you
command to enable you in the exer
. else of sound judgment to arriv,
at what you believe to be the truth
Your proceedings are to be secret ant
all witnesses and others interested
should understand this and that an
premature disclosures of what tran
spires in the Grand Jury room con
I stitutes crime which subjects then
! to punishment. You will also un
. derstand that IL, at least, of you
i number must agree to justify tn
finding of bill.
| This charge concluded, Mr.Loomi
, Wells of CRANKY was appointe'
foreman, and the j1fors were dis
= missed to their duties. The Peti
Jurors were next sworn in, Judg
Royce taking more than ordinar,
pains to urge upon them the ne
{ cessity of a strict observance o
= their oath, pointing out in detail it
nature, instructing them in the plain
est possible manner what it is to we
J and truly try an issue and how j
was to be done, and doing it in sue
!, simple and clear language that tn
jury got many new ideas of the pre-
: cess by which the truth was regular
ly and systematically got at. In
very impressive manner he Gale
their attention to the clause in tbei
: oath relating to secrecy and mad
such impression on the minds Of tn
jurors that lawyers remarked tha
= for the first time since they bega
% to attend court the public receive
: no information relating to what tn
y jury was doing except as it was al
- nounced in open court.
= The jury calendar was then Gale